Evidence of resource partitioning between fin and sei whales during the twentieth-century whaling period ...

• Main Authors: Buss, DL, Hearne, E, Loy, RHY, Manica, A, O’Connell, TC, Jackson, JA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2022
• Subjects: Balaenoptera borealis; Balaenoptera physalus; Resource partitioning; Stable isotope analysis; Whaling; South Georgia; Baleen; Antarctic; Sandwich Islands; South Sandwich Islands; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; baleen whales; Sei Whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.90684; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/343273

AbstractInvestigating resource partitioning of marine predators is essential for understanding coexistence of sympatric species and the functional role they play in marine ecosystems. Baleen whales are a key component of sub-Antarctic ecosystems, foraging predominantly on zooplankton and small forage fish. During the twentieth century, baleen whales were unsustainably exploited across the Southern Ocean. Within the exclusive economic zone of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI EEZ) in the South Atlantic, approximately 98,000 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and 16,000 sei whales (B.borealis) were harvested. Despite both species historically occurring in high numbers and feeding in sub-polar waters, little is known about the mechanisms of coexistence. Here, by measuring stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) in archived baleen plates and analysing historic catch data, we investigate resource partitioning of fin and sei whale during the commercial whaling period. ...